Ramón (Andrea Occhipinti) is a handsome successful gay lawyer in Madrid, but unlike most of his friends has not settled into a partnership. His closest friend is Esperanza (Loles León) who is a 40 year-old divorced school teacher in love with Ramón. She can't seem to meet or like any men unless they are gay, so she's somewhat of a "fag hag", and Ramón tries to help her find her right man. They party together with businessmen, doctors, and teachers, and go out together to bars. Ramón always brings a man home while Esperanza goes home to an empty bed. Promiscuous Ramón usually has a different partner every evening.
After an automobile accident in which Ramón is injured, Esperanza moves in to care for him, a care that includes asking one of her fellow Phys Ed teachers Roberto (Armando del Río) to give physical therapy and massage to Ramón. Esperanza becomes jealous of the "amor de hombre" (love for another man). Because Roberto seems to rebuff Ramón's growing obsession with an unattainable straight man, the therapy ends when Ramón is able to walk. A twist occurs once Ramón is well and Roberto changes roles and is seductive to Ramón, a romance that comes to a tragic ending. It is the quality of friendship between Ramón and Esperanza that provides the lasting nucleus of this tale. The movie ends with Esperanza and Ramon platonically kissing on a beautiful beach at sunset.
This colorful, tender and funny tale is about the intense relationship between a straight woman and a gay man. It has a smart script, and is well cast, acted, directed, and scored. A light and entertaining comedy drama with a message, the two leads may not appeal to everyone. Esperanza in particular is annoying to some viewers. One wrote, "She is a one of the most possessive, irritating and manipulative types of person that I have ever seen in a movie." The film won both the Audience and Jury awards at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Narrative Feature at the Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. José Manuel Pagán composed the original music. Yolanda García Serrano and Juan Luis Iborra wrote the screenplay and directed. In Spanish with English subtitles. The English title is "Love of a Man".
